


One change too many

by Quicksilvermaid



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Drabble, Headcanon, Hogwarts Eighth Year, M/M, War Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-16
Updated: 2018-08-16
Packaged: 2019-06-28 06:44:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15701955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quicksilvermaid/pseuds/Quicksilvermaid
Summary: Malfoy is different after the war and for Harry that's one change too many.





	One change too many

**Author's Note:**

> This is more of a drabble than a fic. I'm keeping a bunch of placeholder stories here to expand on later, so I don't lose them on tumblr.
> 
> Jump over and say hi and hound me to write more if you like haha: [@quicksilvermaid](http://quicksilvermaid.tumblr.com)

He couldn’t figure out what it was that bothered him so much. Malfoy had changed. Fine. Everyone had changed. The school had changed. The whole bloody world had changed.

But somehow it was the change in Malfoy that bothered him the most. He was quiet where he had been cutting, withdrawn where he had been the centre of attention, oblivious where he had been watching Harry's every move for years. He wasn't even playing Quidditch and none of the other seekers were presenting any sort of challenge.

It was just … one change too many. The Daily Prophet had gone mad with stories about how he was the saviour reborn and all sorts of hero-worshipping rubbish that the general public and half the students at Hogwarts had lapped up. Even Ron and Hermione were tiptoeing around him these last few months, as if not quite sure whether he would fall to pieces if they said the wrong thing.

He found he was kind of missing Malfoy's unique way of cutting through all the bullshit. He was the one person who had never bought into all that Chosen One crap.

He found himself watching Malfoy again, wondering if the real him was still in there somewhere. Wondering what it would take to bring him out.

He found himself … baiting Malfoy. If he was really honest, he was baiting him, trying to get a rise. To get anything that felt normal. The consistent lack of response just made things worse. The real Malfoy didn't turn away, didn't answer in monotones, didn't turn the other way when he saw Harry coming. The real Malfoy fought back, gave as good as he got and had a spark of challenge in his eyes and a smirk on his lips.

\---

It came to a head on a beautiful clear day when Harry was on his way to practice. He saw Malfoy leaving the library.  
'Come fly with me.' The words were out of his mouth before he could reconsider.  
Malfoy just stared at him, nonplussed, then shook his head and began moving away.

Harry stepped in front of him and raised an eyebrow in challenge, 'Scared, Malfoy?'

'What's your problem, Potter?' Malfoy sighed, not even rising to that bait.

'I don’t know who you are anymore,' he blurted out and then felt like slapping a hand over his mouth. Why had he said that? He hadn't meant to say that.

But Malfoy didn't laugh at him, didn't tell him to fuck off, instead he just stared. The look on his face was hard to read. He looked surprised and then strangely vulnerable. His shoulders were tense and he rubbed a hand almost unconsciously over his forearm.

Finally he low out a long, slow breath, 'Neither do I,' he whispered.


End file.
